Spied – Mercedes GLA starts testing in India

The fifth member of its SUV family, the Mercedes GLA is based on the MFA Platform and measures 4,417 x 1,804 x 1,494 millimetres (length x width x height) with a Cd of 0.29. Its boot space of 421 liters can be expanded to 836 liters when the seats are folded down.

The GLA, launching in the festive season, is currently on road trials. Bookings for the car are open.

The GLA is powered by three engines in Europe, a 1.6-liter (156hp/250Nm) and a 2.0-liter (211hp/330Nm) firing gasoline and the 2.2-liter diesel engine (170hp/350Nm) paired to a six-speed manual transmission or to a 7G-DCT dual clutch automatic transmission. The variant singled out for India is learned to be the 220 CDI, powered by the 2,143 cc diesel engine producing 167 hp and 350 Nm of torque, matched to a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox.

The GLA made its Indian debut at the Auto Expo in February.

All wheel drive technology (4MATIC) is available on petrol and diesel variants and an AMG model (GLA 45 AMG) has also joined the European lineup recently. The GLA 45 AMG model has a good chance of getting introduced in India since expanding the AMG line has been at the forefront of Mercedes India’s business plan this year. The same cannot be said for the 4MATIC as smaller Mercs haven’t got it yet in India.

One diesel variant, powered by the familiar 2.2L engine, has been planned for the launch.

In Europe, the GLA is packed with an impressive list of features that comprise the ATTENTION ASSIST (drowsiness detection system), adaptive Brake Assist while the optional features include Blind Spot warning, Lane Keeping Assist, COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS, and Active Parking Assist.